Swag from Nachos Grande

Couple of highlights from a recent Nachos Grande Box Break

2015 Topps Heritage #596 Freddy Galvis

We lead off our Swag posting with a rare Freddy Galvis card. Topps seems to snub Galvis for some reason. He is not exactly a star and really more of a reserve player, but he is right at the top of the list of Phillies that don't get Topps cards.

This card is from the Heritage High  Number set, likewise #596 was a high number in the original 1966T  but it did not correspond to a Phillies player. The original card was as Rookie Card issued to Nate Colbert with Houston. I was unaware that Colbert debuted with the Astros until I saw the RC. He eventually moved to the Padres as an expansion draft pickup. Colbert shares his dual RC with Greg Sims who had a grand total of 7 career MLB Plate Appearances.

2014 Topps Stadium Club Chase Utley Base & Black Parallel 

He's gone and may have to sign a minor league contract to hook up with a team in 2016 but that won't stop us from being fans. Nice to pick up this short print in the break. 

2011 Topps Wilson Valdez 

There are not a lot of cares of Phan Phavorite Wilson Valdez. 

2013 Topps Chrome Purple Refractor Ryan Howard Purple 

Picked up a couple Purple Refractor shorties, The more notable of the two is the above Ryan Howard...

2013 Topps Chrome Purple Refractor Jonathan Pettibone

Pettibone had Shoulder surgery during the summer of 2014 and was expected to return to the Phillies by spring of this year but never made it to the mound in an official game. He is not currently on the 40 man roster.

2015 Topps Ken Giles

One of the few bright spots for the Phillies the last few seasons has been reliever Ken Giles. With contenders looking for closers and the rebuilding Phillies not reall needing one there is a chance that Giles will be on the move this winter. 

2015 Topps Heritage Odubel Herrera 

The Phillies rule 5 pickup Odubel Herrera also provided a few highlights during the Phillies 2015 campaign.

2015 Topps Chrome Ryan Howard

Still good to see cards of one of the 2008 Phillies last remaining heroes.

Bobby Abreu 
Darren Daulton
Ricky Otero

Some other heroes from the past were part of the break

2008 Topps Home Run Derby Chase Utley

Closing with another Chase Card.

Sources and Links
Baseball Card Database
Baseball-reference
Phillies - Todd Zolecki
Philly.com - Jake Caplan 

Swag from Nachos Grande

Picked up a bunch o cards in the lastest Nachos Grande break. Posting some of the highlights here

2014 Topps Stadium Club Auto Mario Hollands

I was the big winner in the Topps Stadium Club portion of the break. Yes it is a rookie card auto, but considering some of the other possibilities of autos in 2014 TSC this is a disappointment for the group break.

With Antonio Bastardo out of the picture, I imagine Hollands is in the mix for LH bullpen guy.

2013 Panini Triple Play Cole Hamels, Carlos Ruiz

I wasn't a fan of 2012 TP, the images were a too vague for me. I think they is a significant upgrade in the artwork for 2013.

2012 Spotsclix Figurne Randy Wolf

This is a W - Randy Wolf is a bit of a Team Phungo Favorite. He has taken a spot on the Phungo Shelf of Fame.

Munnatawket Custom Cards - 2008 A&G mini tribute

These special bonus cards are an ABSOLUTE Highlight. To me the Munnatawket Customs look better than the cards produced by Topps in 2008 - How cool is it to get an Auto from the Nachos Grande Author. We  are less than 3 weeks into 2015 and this may be the best card I get all year!

Sources and Links

Nachos Grande

Cardboard Connection

2014 Topps Stadium Club Group Break Swag from Nachos Grande

Couple of cards from a recent Nachos Grande group break. Unfortunately, Topps came up a little short on coallation and there were some duplicate autographs/hits in the break. Regardless 2014TSC has some quality photography and some fun shots.

2014 Topps Stadium Club #167 Domonic Brown

One of the blogs I miss most is Dinged Corners. I bring this up here because they had a collection of players smiling cards. If they are still collecting the above Dom Brown card surely would be a candidate.

When I first saw this card I also noticed that Brown is being interviewed by CSNPhilly broadcaster Gregg Murphy. I asked Mr Murphy about this via Twitter (@GMurphCSN) He noted "My Best side for sure"
 
Flip It

2014 Topps Stadium Club #165 Cole Hamels (A&B sides)

As mentioned above the collation among the boxes in the break wasn't great. A product of this was getting two Cole Hamels cards, which makes it easy to display the front & back of 2014 TSC in a single photo.  

Nice Pix, kind of a Meh back. basically a 6 year old blurb, minimalist demographic info and stats. I would think TSC would be better suited for more SABRmetric stats than WHIP.

Parallels

2014 Topps Stadium Club Gold Parallel #170 Ryan Howard

According to Cardboard Connection gold foil parallels appear one per master box. The card is running at a BIN of $3 on ebay


Bonus Cards

2010 UD Pure Heat #PH-13 Ryan Howard

Nacho's Grande being the good Group Breaker that he is threw in some bonus box breaks and cards. This is a nice Ryan Howard Die Cut by 2010 UD.  This was an unlicensed product and we don't see the Phillies nickname on the front, however it is on the text of the cards b-side.

Pure Heat is a 15 card insert set of 2010 UD. Among the 15 cards are 2 Phillies - Howard and #PH-4 Cole Hamels.

1989 Donruss #549 Darren Daulton

The 1989 Darrren Daulton Donruss Card is noteworthy for featuring the Phils Catcher posing in a right-handed batting stance. Earliest this year The Phillies Collector Blog asked Daulton about the card/pix and got the scoop from the subject himself. Happy to get this card as a bonus in the Group Break.

Sources & Links
Cardboard Connection
ebay 
Baseball Cardpedia
Phillies Collector

Phungo 5 with Nachos Grande

This week the Phillies are hosting the Cincinnati Reds who are having very good season.  To find out what is going on with the 2012 edition of the Big Red Machine we are talking with Chris from Nachos Grande. 

1) Which Red is most likely to Homer off Phillies pitching? 

Of all the Reds, I'd guess Scott Rolen would most like to homer since it's his former team.  That said, I think that Frazier will probably homer since he's been getting a lot of the playing time (and should be one of the front runners for Rookie of the Year).  If I have to choose one player though, it'll be Jay Bruce.  He went through an awful slump but he seems to have righted the ship so to speak and is hitting well over the past few games (including a walk off homer the other night).  Bruce is streaky to a fault, but at least for now it appears he is in one of his good streaks.

    

2) Which Reds Player from the past has been overlooked by Topps in their Retro-Heritage/Archives/Lineage type products?

I would like to see more cards of George Foster, Ted "Big Klu" Kluszewski, and Edd Roush.  Barry Larkin got a little love from Topps last year but I'd like to see him become the Reds "modern legend" in future Topps sets!

3) Where would you like to go on your next baseball road trip?  

I'd love to see Colorado's stadium and Houston's stadium - both look really nice on TV.  Even more than those, I'd love to visit San Francisco's stadium - something about the bay makes that place seem like no other (at least on TV).  That said, I think I might be taking a trip to Atlanta (and maybe either Kansas City or St. Louis) next summer - the other stadiums are  quite a trip!

4) What do you think would be a good theme for the 2013 A&G 1:2 Pack insert set (some past ones were Whats in a Name, Birth Date, Birth State, Perez Sketches etc) ? 

I think a "top 5 all-time players" from each team could be kind of cool since Topps has been doing a lot more with retired players.  With 30 teams, that'd be a 150 card set which is probably too large (maybe some players could be doubled up in terms of teams - Roger Clemens perhaps or even someone like Eric Davis).  I imagine licensing would be a nightmare though!  If Topps truly wanted to mix it up, I think a set of "Countries of the World" would be pretty sweet.  Again, it'd be a huge set but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

5) Math Question: Based off of Check Lists, Hit Ratios, Serial Numbers etc, How many cases of A&G were produced by Topps?

Ooh boy.  Can I claim it's still the off season for me since school doesn't officially begin until August 27?  No?  Ok then.  It's not easy to figure out exactly how many packs were produced, but if Topps odds are correct we should be able to determine how many hobby packs...  

For instance, there were 100 Topps originals this year and each was numbered 1/1 and seeded 1:45164 packs.  With 100 of them, if they were all inserted into hobby packs (i.e. assuming Topps didn't hold any back for quality control), you'd have 4,516,400 hobby packs.  Each box holds 24 packs, each case holds 12 boxes, therefore each case has 288 packs.  4516400 packs total / 288 packs per case = approximately 15,682 cases.  

Checking the math with another rare 1/1 card - the Ginter Book cards are seeded 1:136,131 packs.  There are 25 book cards total, suggesting there should be  3,403,275 hobby packs (or about 11,817 hobby cases).  

Finally, we can check the numbers with the Currency of the World box loaders.  Those are seeded 1:25 boxes.  There are 30 different countries represented (each numbered out of 50) so there is a total of 1500 different cards.  That suggests there are 37500 hobby boxes or 3,125 hobby cases.

Obviously, those three numbers aren't close!  If I had to guess, I'd say Topps overestimated the rarity of the originals (or the checklist I saw claiming that there was 100 in total) was incorrect.  

ScoreCard 

We have an open question for the Reds first HR of the series, but as Nachos Grande gets a strong 4 out of 4 on the remaining questions.  I am not bothering to check the math on Q5 - I will just mention each formula looks logical to me - and I have always thought Topps has so many configurations that the odds are all a bunch of hooey anyway.  Chris came up pretty strong on his suggestions for both the Reds and future A&G inserts.  

Replay - 2012 Phungo 5 Postings
 

Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies Room. 

Atlanta Braves - Cardboard Junkie 

Miami Marlins - 30-Year Old Cardboard

New York Mets - Paul's Random Baseball Stuff

Chicago Cubs - Wrigley Wax

Pittsburgh Pirates - Pirates Treasure Room

St Louis Cardinals - Cards on Cards

Los Angeles Dodgers - Night Owl Cards

San Diego Padres - Padrographs

Kansas City Roayls - Autograph Cards

Oakland A's - The Fuji Chronicles

Seattle Mariners - Emeral City Diamond Gems 

Texas Rangers - Play at the Plate

Nachos Grande Replays

Nachos Grande 2010 

Nachos Grande 2009

 

Hero Numbers Pt I: Why Don't We Talk about Hero Numbers?

When I collected cards as a kid I had a certain fascination with Hero Numbers and to some extent I still do.  Each year I enjoy seeing which players have been awarded hero numbers - and with heritage it is interesting to see what players get paired with stars of yesteryear on those numbers.  

2012 Topps #100 Jose Bautista (b-Side)


Recently it occurred to me with literrally hundreds of blogs discussing every topic in the world related to cards we rarely hear any discusiion about Hero Numbers.  Heroes are an aspect of Topps Cards that date all the way back to their classic sets of the 1950s. 

This got me thinking, am I the only person that gives a damn about hero numbers?  Am I just numbers obsessed with numbers while the typical collector views them as fluff.

This led me to ask around for some outside opinions. 

One of the folks I thought of turning to was our resident Mathamatician, Reds Fan, and Super BoxBreaker Chris from Nacho's Grande.  I was interested on his take on numbers and our perception of them.

Nachos Grande: 

Although mathematicians don't think of numbers in terms of "hero" numbers much - they do think in terms of different bases.  For most of us, we are used to counting by tens (base 10) so numbers like 10, 100, and 1000 DO hold a special place in a mathematicians heart.  Computer scientists are used to base 2 (1s and 0s) so the powers of 2 are their form of "hero" numbers (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.).

Ahh - of course - we have 10 fingers and that is the basis for a lot of our numbers thinking - can you imagine if we were all Simpsons - Our hero Numbers would be 80, 160, and 240 - actually they would still be 100 200 and 300, but they woudl occur every 80th card.  The 660 card set woudl contain 8 heroes rather than 6. 

For the record The Computer Scientists Hero Numbers in 2012 Series 1 would yield: 

2  Trevor Cahill

4  Jeremy Guthrie

8  Mike Adams

16  Desmond Jennings 

32   Detroit Tigers Post Season highlights

64 Michael Martinez

128  Lucas Duda

256  Mat Latos

of course all your Hero Numbers would be in S1 - Series two would only yield 512.  Interesting list there - Lets face it only in the Comp Sci world of Binary Numbers is Michael Martinez a Hero Number.  I think Desmond Jennings is a prospect - maybe he is a future HN candidate.

Next up I spoke with Greg from Night Owl Cards.  The Night Owl is one of the stronger Topps enthusiasts among card bloggers and is always good for fresh insight on every aspect of collecting.

Night Owl Cards: 

I've read hero numbers in the past from older blogs, like The Baseball Card Blog. I thought it was something that had been addressed pretty completely already so that's why I've never mentioned it on my blog.

As for what I think: I grew up with the hero number system, so it makes sense to me. At some point in the '90s, Topps got away from it. Now it addresses it -- sort of. It seems to be that it uses an appropriate hero number whenever it feels like it -- which is basically Topps' philosophy in everything now. "If I feel like it."

Personally, I'd like Topps to do what Fleer used to do -- group each team together by card number. Maybe it wouldn't look as great in a binder, but it sure makes it easy for collectors in other ways.

Interesting take here - Has Topps devalued the Hero Number by ignoring them?  Recently Topps Series 1 and 2 have at least given the idea a nod.  The Updates and Highlights sets have been sporadic.  Heritage only recognizes Hero Numbers to pair active players with their historically significant teammates. 

I was a little dismayed about all this.  Maybe I am the only person that cares about Hero Numbers and that is why they do not get talked about.  Perhaps they are too inherently obvious and posting about them is just restating the obvious.  

The last paragraph from Night Owl also bummed me out.  I have never been partial to the Fleer/UD thing of bunching teams together - I like the cards spread out through a set and seeing a binder page with a variety of players - that's just personal preference.  I appreciate the convenience of having all of a teams players in one area - for me the variety in a base set trumps that convenience.  In the NetWorld there are plenty of places to dig up team set information. 

Exception - Dammit Topps can you put the League Leaders cards together.  sprinkling them through the set is just plain annoying.

On Deck

Hero Numbers 2012 - in the Part 2 we will discuss the Merits of this years Heroes Mr Bautsita (above), Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Hamilton

Swag from Nachos Grande

In January Chris from Nachos Grande ran a group break involving a bunch of boxes from the early 2000s.  If you're a Phils Fan the early aughts is a pretty quiet time - typically this means a lot of Scott Rolen and Bobby Abreu - neither of which is a fan favorite.  Despite this the Nachos Grande break was a fun one and provided us with a bunch of nice cards.  Here are some of the highlights:

 A couple of Phils from my childhood.   These are from the UD Vintage set.  These are the cards that mimic 1975 Topps.

Fleer Vintage cards that homage 1954 Topps.

Topps Finest Bobby Abreu and Todd Helton - The NG break featured one random team, Team Phungo got the Rockies.  Not a great one if you like classic cards, I mean who are they going to put in the Vintage sets Larry Walker?   

 Fleer Inserts of Pat Burrell and Die Cut of Phungo Favorite Randy Wolf

Swag from Nachos Grande - Tier One plus A&G nno

Still catching up on postings - Last month Nachos Grande ran a Tier One Group Break.  Here is the good stuff.     

2011 Topps Tier One Tony Gwynn (Base #d to 799) 
2011 Topps Tier One Hunter Pence (Base) 
2011 Topps Tier One Cole Hamels (T4 #d 199)
2011 Allen & Ginter NNO Roy Halladay

Tier One as the name states is a Tiered product with several parallels.  The break was of the 15 team variety where you get a team you choose plus one at random.  My random squad was the Padres - Tony Gwynn is about as well as I could do personally for a Padres base card as he is one of my favorite players.  The Pence Base card may be my first of him as a Phil.  The Hamels was my best pull from the Tier One portion of the break. 

2011 A&G NNO Roy Halladay

Nachos Grande had won a box of 2011 A&G and he through cards from that box that he didn't need for his PC into the break.  Fortunately one of those cards was arguably the best card in the box.  A No Numbered Roy Halladay Mini.  This is only my 2nd nno mini.  I have a Cole Hamels from a different break I was involved in a few years back. 

Chris also gave each participant a team set of 2011 Topps Lineage, so in addition to the above cards, I also picked up the Phils and Padres Topps Lineage cards.

Right now over at Nachos Grande a group break featuring 5 turn of the century products. Phils from that era aren't not nearly as exciting as the current crew - maybe pick up a couple of cool Scott Rolen cards.  

Nachos Grande Survey - Autographs

Recently Nachos Grande posted a survey related to Autograph collecting.  I collect Autographed cards of all types of players. Most of the players are noteworthy to me for some reason, usually something insignificant, as I generally try and find the $5 an under cards - a lot of those I use for Spot the Sig! fodder.  Others are favorite players and Hall of Famers. 

 

The Phungo Auto collection likely stands at a few hundred cards and I think I can provide some interesting insights into autograph collecting. 

 

1.  What is the best autograph you own?

    Today, Joe Frazier - More on that Later

    otherwise Mike Schmidt on a book.  My best card Auto is probably Steve Carlton Leather Cuts.  
2.  What is the best autograph that you've ever pulled from a pack of cards?

    Paul Molitor (Goudey Graphs 2008), Brooks Robinson 09 OBAK. 

2009 Obak #A48 Brooks Robinson (#59/200)

3.  What is the worst autograph you've ever pulled from a pack of cards?

    07 Sweet Spot Chirs Capuano - The box was only $45 and I still felt stiffed - althought the RC Auto was of Hunter Pence.  

    Brad somebody from the Astros in Donruss 08 Product.  See the card at shows for $2 all the time.

4.  Do you try to get autographs through the mail?  If so, what sort of success (or failure) stories do you have?    No - this facet of the hobby has not capture my attention yet.  

5.  Who was the subject of your first ever autograph?

    It was either Scott Fitzkee (TE w/ the Eagles) or Greg Manning(Collegiate Hoop star w/ the Maryland Terrapins - I think he may now be a radio broadcaster w/ the team)

    As an  adult, I think Jay Bell may be the first auto I got at the ballpark - it is all faded now.       
6.  Do you actively collect any autographs (certain players, teams, brands, etc)?

    I have an affection for certain brands but no aspirations for a set.  Among my favs are Sweet Spot, A&G, UD Goodwin Champs, SI Greats of the Games, 1996 Leaf, UD Goudey

7.  Which is better:  Autographs or Relics?

    Autographs - I for the most part dismiss relics
8.  What do you think of cut autos?

    I don't have any yet - would like to add one to my Type collection but that is about it right now.       
9.  What is your favorite autograph design (say in the last 5 years)?

    In general Sweet Spot.  A&G, and I like the Goodwin Champs design in general. 

10.  If you could get the autograph of any five people (dead or alive) who would you want a signature from (and why)?

    Couple names off the top of my head without much thought - Richie Ashburn, Martin Scorcese, Jim Morrison, Fran Tarkenton, Dali - Ashburn would probably be on that list any day the rest of those folks would likely change depending on my mood.

 

I dashed this off the top of my head, so some of the set/yr names may be a lil off, but I am in the general area.  It is a solid survey that asks some interesting questions.  I sort of fell into Autograph collecting and it is one of the areas of the hobby I really don't have much of a checklist - perhaps that helps keep it enjoyable.

Swag from Nachos Grande

A few weeks back Nachos Grande was soliciting offers for a few cards he had in his trade stack one of those was the Robin Roberts Legends SP from 2011 Topps.  I had the perfect card to trade for RR, that was the Johnny Bench Legends card from basically the same set (Topps 1 v Topps 2 for Roberts).  

 

2011 Topps #460 Robin Roberts SP (Legends Variation)

 

I pulled the Bench card from a retail pack a few months back and the swap of hall of famers made logical sense.  

 

At first I thought this was an image from Roberts 1957 Topps Card 

 

2011 Topps #460 Robin Roberts SP (Legends Variation)
1957 Topps #15 Robin Roberts 

 

While the pose looks similar it appears as if the background is different and it is hard to tell if Roberts is possibly wearing a road uni on the vintage card.  

 

But then I came across the Robin Roberts 1952 Bowman card which may be based on the photo used on the 2011 Topps Legends card.  

 

1952 Bowman #4 Robin Roberts

2011 Topps #460 Robin Roberts SP (Legends Variation) 

 

Despite the differences in angle there are some similarities to the buildings beyond Roberts Throwing shoulder. 

 

In addition to the Legends SP Chris also sent a few other Phillies cards including a couple of Aces from this years Lineage set. 

 

2011 Topps Lineage #121 Roy Halladay

2011 Topps Lineage #102 Cole Hamels

 

Thanks to Chris - who has to be one of the most active traders among us many card bloggers.  I have finally gotten his package together and it will hopefully be in the mail someday on Wednesday. 

Phungo 5 with Nachos Grande

This week the Phils visit the NL Central Division Leading Cincinnati Reds. For a closer look at the talent on this Upstart team we talk to Chris from Nachos Grande.

I post the Reds over under as 87 Wins - which will it be?

I think the Reds will finish the year with more than 87 wins. As I write this answer, the Reds are on pace for 88 wins (according to CoolStandings). However, the Reds actually should get better towards the end of the year since Edinson Volquez will be returning and Aroldis Chapman may make a bullpen appearance to add some intimidation to the 'pen.

1995 UD Minor League #78 Scott Rolen

Have you been surprised by Scott Rolen's performance for the Reds?

When the Reds traded for Scott Rolen, I thought it was a bit of a wasteful move both in terms of money and players (they sent Edwin to the Blue Jays). However, Rolen has impressed me considerably and performed much, MUCH better than I thought. In fact, I believe he is the key to the Reds success this year - if he remains healthy all year, the Reds make the playoffs.

If the Reds are buyers a month from now, who would fit well into thier lineup?

The Reds could use a leadoff hitter but I'm not exactly sure who they'd be able to get. The offense from the shortstop position is lacking (as is left field defense) so those would be the areas I'd expect the Reds to try to fill. If Chapman doesn't slot into the bullpen, the Reds really need to find someone (besides the ageless wonder Rhodes) to fill the gap from the starters to Cordero.

What Barry Larkin card makes you cringe?

In general, I'm not a fan of super "busy" cards...so cards like the 1995 Topps Bazooka Barry Larkin make me cringe.

Who will be the National League Rookie of the Year?

If Strasburg keeps pitching decently, I'm afraid the hype machine will lead to him being named MVP. However, there are a lot of solid rookies in the National League that deserve consideration (including the Reds' Mike Leake who's been great all year despite never pitching a single inning in the minor leagues).

Phungo Box Score

3 for 3 for Nachos Grande. I always have mixed feelings on Scott Rolen - he is a Diva but his work ethic is typically unquestioned, and when healthy he capable of providing quality on-field leadership. Only 3 of 3 since I have out two prognostication type Qs. I like the faith that Chris is showing in his squad and I would also like to see the Reds make a push for the post-season.

Looking Back

For a look back at our previous Phungo 5 with Dave from Indians Baseball Cards and Random Wax click here. Or you can click here to see our 2009 Q&A with Nachos Grande

Group Break - Nachos Grande

2005 UD Classics
#125 Ryne Sandberg
#81 Richie Ashburn
#83 Robin Roberts
#48 Jim Bunning

These are just four of the cards that I recieved in a recent Nachos Grande group Break. The Break involved the 05 UD Classics and 1998 UD Collectors Choice as well as a handful of miscellaneous packs.

I really enjoy the 05 UD Classics such as the ones featured above. The 1998 portion of the package included a heavy dose of Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen as the star cards from a rather down era for the Phils.

If your interested in another break that is being run by Nachos Grande check out the current break featuring five different boxes from 1995-2005.

Swag from Nachos Grande...

I was pleasantly surprised to get a nice package of cards from Nachos Grande which included Several great Phillies Cards.

2008 Topps #140 Ryan Howard (Authorized by Cincinnati Red Ken Griffey)
1990 Donruss Diamond Kings #7 Lenny Dykstra
1985 Topps #157 Tug McGraw

Fine cards indeed....wha????? What the Heck is this - the unis are Red, but the players aren't to familiar looking???


2009 UD #95 Brandon Phillips (multiple)
2009 UD #601 Brandon Phillips (multiple)
2009 UD #961 Brandon Phillips (multiple)

Ahh this Explains It!!!

Bippage Relic Card Numbered to /2 - My lowest Serial EVER!!!

It feels like Groundhog's Day, I have been bipped again!

I wonder who got the Other Relic??

Thanks to Fan Of Reds and the Nachos Grande Crew - And Thorzul for making this all possible.

Cards for Clunkers Swag from Nachos Grande

Cincinnati Reds Blogger Chris of Nachos Grande is doing his part to get the economy moving. He has started a Cards for Clunkers stimulus package. Simply put he has a few choice cards, that are Clunkers in his collection, and he is moving them out via trade for any cards that you have on his more recent Want lists.

Chris had some great Phils Gold Parallels and I had some extra UD Masterpieces for trade. I sent out a couple of cards on Chris' Want List and a few other Reds cards, He was good enough to get me the Gold Cards, plus some Phils.

1981 Topps #540 Mike Schmidt
2008 Goudey #145 Richie Ashburn
1988 Topps #406 Shane Rawley NL All-Star
1998 UD Collector's Choice #203 Midre Cummings

I am not sure how many Schmidt Cards I have from the Topps Base issued during his playing days. Probably 1/3 to half of them. This 1981 Topps is new to my collection and I am glad to have the card.

Another HOF card in the bounty was this sweet looking 08 Goudey Ashburn. Shane Rawley's only All-Star selection was for the 1986 game, in which he did not appear. This is a 1988 Topps card and the All-Star designation here is likely for the Topps team. Rawley was 2nd in the league with 17 victories during the 1987 season. Midre Cummings only played for the Phils during the 2nd half of the 1997 season, and I doubt there were many cards issued of him as a Phile. He ended up the Phils principle center fielder during their miserable 1997 campaign.



2008 Topps Chrome Xfractor #106 Johnny Damon

I have recently started a few player Collections, and Johnny Damon is one of the players I am collecting. The others are Garry Maddox, Jamie Moyer, Chase Utley, Bill Lee and Mike Mussina.

I really don't have many Johnny Damon Cards and figured having a shiny X-fractor would be a nice anchor for one of the Damon pages.

And a Special Thanks to Nachos Grande for including the Brad Lidge Sketch Card from the Gint-a-Cuffs Promotion.

I hope that Nachos Grande is as happy with their new cards as team Phungo is with these fine selections.

Sources and Links
Johnny Damon Index 

Phungo 5 with Nachos Grande and Joey Votto

This week the Phils are in Cincinnati for the middle series of a 3 city road trip. We checked in with Nachos Grande to gets some info on the latest edition of the Big Red Machine. While the Reds have struggled the last few years, if you've been paying attention you will have certainly noticed they have some promising young talent. The Reds enter the Phils Series 3 games over .500 and hopefully the Phils will not take this upstart team lightly.

Nachos Grande fills us in on the Reds young talent and discusses a recently retired star as well as some other subjects during this edition of the Phungo 5.

Is Joey Votto a batting champion?

I think Votto has the potential to be one of the great players - but I'm a little worried about his health currently. He missed a bunch of games because of the flu and he's been taken out of at least two games complaining of dizziness. The Reds certainly cannot afford to be without his bat in the lineup for extended periods!

Should I jump on a Homer Bailey auto if I find one cheap or is he destined for a career of setup relief?

Homer Bailey is, as they say, an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He pitches games where he is absolutely brilliant and then he'll go out and throw a game where little leaguers could hit home runs off him. I believe that it would be a good idea to pick up his auto on the cheap and then hope that Bailey gets traded to another team. I don't believe he'll amount to much with the Reds, but I think that a change of scenery (and a wake up call) would do him a world of good.

As a Mathematician do you have a favorite baseball stat - especially amongst all these new SABRmatic stats? and is there a statistic that you think is totally overrated??

Great question! I don't know that I have a favorite or least favorite statistic, but rather, I have a particular problem with the way certain statistics are portrayed by announcers and their ilk. For example, quality starts. Many people spout nonsense when talking about quality starts, heck, even the name is misleading. While giving up 3 runs or less is decent, it isn't always "quality". For instance, if you are going against Roy Halladay and he is throwing a 1 hitter through 7 innings and you've thrown 7 innings of ball while giving up three runs, well, that's not quality! On the flip side, if you are going against a pitcher like Eric Milton who has given up 7 runs in the first two innings and another 2 or three runs since then and you've only given up 4 runs in 7 innings, well, that's quality. Quality starts do not equal wins - nor do the really even tell the story of any particular game...

On the hitting side, I've never really understood the fascination with the "runs" statistic. It stands to reason that those who have high run totals probably have a high OPS, but even so, it's more of a team measure than it is an individual measure (much like wins and losses for a pitcher).

If you could retire one Cincinnati Red number that is not retired (other than 14) what would it be?

From the players of my era, the obvious answer is #11 Barry Larkin. I'm a huge fan of Larkin, and since he was one of the keys to the Reds last World Series appearance (and win), he deserves to have his number retired officially (it is unofficially retired already, no one on the roster is ever given #11).

Favorite WKRP Character?

You got me here - I never watched much of WKRP...instead I'll have to give a plug to "The Big Bang Theory" which is a show about a bunch of physicists (close to mathematicians) and a blonde girl next door...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Thanks to Nachos Grande for this weeks Phungo 5. let me see here Votto - good but injury questions check, Bailey Change of Scenery good check, Quality Starts and Runs ayyy - hmm I actually like both those stats a little have to think on that one, Barry Larkin Check, Big Bang Theory Blonde? yep Check. While as much as I do have a bit of a liking for the Run Scored and Quality Starts stats, I do undertstand Nachos' having an issue with those stats - And hey I have to give credit anytime someobdy comments "Great Question" so 5 out 5 for Nachos' Grande

If you would like to check a previous Phungo 5 with Night Owl Cards click here.